Reflections Of The Past
by Artemis Goldborough
Summary: A pre-Infinite Crisis Dick Grayson wakes up in a cell in an unknown location. He's not exactly himself. Other former Titans are there as well. All are years younger than they should be. The year they remember was 2004. The year here is 2010. That's just the begining of their problems. AU heavily inspired by but not the same as the Young Justice cartoon series.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. DC Comics does. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

Dick Grayson groaned as he woke up. It was five seconds after this that he realized he wasn't at home in bed. His head was aching. It was too late to pretend to be asleep. He opened his eyes only to discover that he was on the floor. It was a dark grey floor, a hard floor. The walls were the same. There were no windows. Bright white lights hung about from about twelve feet up.

Another voice let out a moan and Dick knew he wasn't alone in the room. He sat up discovering that the room was small. Behind him was a very familiar costume that he hadn't seen outside of photographs in years. It was the orange and yellow costume of the original Speedy, Roy Harper. A bow and a quiver full of arrows were strapped to his back. The young man on the floor looked like the original Speedy. He was too young looking. His face was too unlined to be the adult Roy Harper.

Dick stood up. His balance was off. He was…shorter? His body was smaller! "What the heck?" he said. Even his voice was off. It was too young sounding. He was dressed in a red and black costume. The sleeves were short. The outfit had a r on the red vest. It was a Robin costume! There was a black cape with yellow lining. Dick had never seen this costume before but it reminded of Tim's. He felt along his face. Even with the gloves he could tell there was a domino mask.

The young man dressed as Speedy sat up. He looked at Dick warily. "Who are you?" the youth asked. His voice sounded exactly like Roy's.

Roy's identity wasn't exactly a secret anymore but it seemed best to err on the side of caution. Was there anything else Roy would recognize? Yes. Dick could think of a few things. He smirked. "Bowhead," he said. "That's a nickname of mine," Roy said, "but not one I like. It's not one I'll put up with from a kid."

"It's me!" Dick shouted. He looked around the small room seeing only way out, a rusty brown metal door. Anyone could be listening. He couldn't say his real name. Unlike Roy he still had secret identity to protect. "It's Nightwing!"

"Yeah right, you Robin wannabe," Roy said, "and I'm still Speedy!"

Dick smiled. "Actually you kind of are. You're dressed the same as then."

"What?" Roy said. He stared down at himself. "Huh?" He stood up. He was several inches taller than Dick. "I'd say you look maybe fifteen," Dick said,

"Yeah? You look ten!" Roy shouted.

Dick groaned. He leaned against a wall. "I was afraid of that." As Roy moved closer Dick realized that it wasn't just inches. The archer was at least a foot taller than Dick.

"How is possible?" Roy asked, "Where are we?"

"How should I know?" Dick said, "The last thing I remember I was getting ready for bed after a long night of patrolling Bludhaven."

Roy titled his head down. "I was getting Li-"

"Zip it!" Dick shouted interrupting Roy. "No personal names or references. You should know that Speedy!"

"Hey!" Roy said, "At least call me Arsenal!"

"I don't think you are Arsenal right now." Dick sighed. He sunk to a sitting position on the floor. "I really don't want to be Robin. "

"Okay if you insist on being anonymous," Roy said with sarcasm, "I'll say You-Know-Who instead."

Dick snorted. "That's an alternative name for that Harry Potter character Voldemort."

"Anyways," Roy continued speaking, "I was putting her to bed. I think I fell asleep beside her. The next thing I know I'm waking up here!"

Dick didn't speak. He just stared at his hands. They were too small. He took off one of the black gloves, the one covering his right hand. He examined the hand. It was definitely a child's hand. "Hey kid!" Roy yelled, "I talking to you!"

"Don't call me kid!" Dick shouted, "We're the same age!"

"Not anymore," Roy said, smirking. His face quickly became worried. "How did we get here?"

"I only wish I knew," Dick said.

The rusty metal door creaked open. It was pitch black outside the room. It was impossible to see what was beyond. A yellow and red clad figure was thrown into the room. He landed with a hard cracking sound on to the floor. The costume was somewhat familiar.

"Kid Flash?" Roy said, "Which one is-

"Don't say any real names!" Dick said, "It's not the costumes of the original or the second. Only the first had hair this shade of red. He looks about twelve maybe thirteen. I think his left leg is broken."

Roy bent down and examined Kid Flash's leg. It was bent in an odd angle. Roy's face was grim as he looked up at Dick. "You were right. It was broken. The speedster's blessing and curse, super speed healing. The leg healed wrong. We'll have to rebreak it to set it. And by 'we' I mean me. You're too small to be strong enough."

Dick glared at Roy. "Do you see anything to set it with?" he asked, "No. you'll leave it alone for now." "Ooohh! Channeling the bat, are you?" Roy gave a fake overly theatrical shudder. "I'm so scared! Not! Especially not from a pint sized kid who may or may not be who I think he is!"

"Oh shut up, R-" Dick caught himself before he could speak the name.

"Hah!" Roy shouted. "What happened to your whole being anonymous thing?"

The Kid Flash began to moan. "Roy?" he said.

Dick sighed. "So much for that," he said, "Just try to keep it first names only. There really is no telling who's listening."

The Kid Flash went on speaking. "Dick? No can't be. The voice sounds off. Why it's so dark in here?"

"Wally?" Roy asked. He put a hand in front of the Kid Flash's eyes. "He's blind."

The Kid Flash, Wally looked around franticly. His eyes were completely unfocused. It was true. He was sightless. Wally tried to stand up only to trip. The crooked leg would not hold his weight. "Ow!" he screamed as he crashed to the floor.

Dick rushed to stand beside Wally. "Take it easy, Wally." Dick said.

"Where am I?" Wally asked, "Dick is that you? What's wrong with your voice. It's too high pitched."

Dick sighed again. "You have very good ears. That or a very good memory of sounds to recognize me this way."

"This way?" Wally said.

"We're younger," Dick said, You're wearing a Kid Flash costume. I'm dressed as some version of Robin. Bowhead here is Speedy again."

"Hey!" Roy shouted, "I'm not Speedy. No matter old or young I look, I'm still Arsenal!"

"The age gaps are more pronounced than they should be," Dick said, "If Arsenal is to be believed I look ten. He's fourteen or fifteen. Until you opened your mouth I would have said you're about twelve. Now I'd say thirteen. Your voice is very close to how it should sound if you were the correct age. The pitch is only slightly off."

"You're being awfully bat-like!" Roy said.

Dick grinned. "What I can say except I learned from the best!" He let out a laugh. The sound was eerie. It was a weird creepy laughter that filled the room. Dick went silent fast. A look of shock spread across his face. Similar looks were on the faces of the other two.

"What was that?" Wally asked.

"The boy wonder's laughter," Roy said.

"That was not my laugh," Dick said.

Wally nodded. "I' .Likeavillian's.I'veneverheardcreepier."

Roy groaned. "Speed talk!"

"KF slow down!" Dick yelled.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," Wally said, "I can control my powers. I never get like that." "Hormones," Dick said, "The one good about being younger than a teen is that I don't have to deal with that. Your hormones are most likely affecting your self control. You complained about that the last time you got deaged."

"It's true isn't it? I am a teenager! Again! Ugh!" Wally yelled, "Ihatethis!Ihatethis!Ihatethis!"

"KF!" Dick's voice was threatening.

Wally slowed his speech. "Sorry." He looked and sounded sheepish. His eyes widened. "KF? What's that? Sounds like it's short for Kid Flash. You've never called me that."

"I don't know," Dick said, "It just came to me. It seemed natural."

"Why would anyone kidnap us and do this?" Roy asked, "Why would they go to all this trouble?"

"Unless" Dick said, "Wild mass guessing: who ever is holding us is not the original kidnapper. More likely they're not meaning us harm. That or they're really dumb, or want to appear that way." Dick unfastened the utility belt around his waist. He held the belt up. "This belt is genuine Batman gear. It's not a model I know of but I recognize the workmanship. It is costly to make. Few enemies would have been able to copy it. An enemy would have to pretty dumb to leave this with me."

Dick sat down on the floor. He began opening up the compartments on the belt one at a time, replacing the objects after he named them. He spoke like he was reading off a list. "Basic Batarangs. Smoke pellets. Flash Grenades. Lock picks. Rebreather. Knife. Chalk. Wait a sec, chalk?" Dick shook his head. "In what universe would chalk make sense in a utility belt? Never mind." Dick went back to listing the items. "Grappling gun. Taser. Bolas." Dick felt suddenly confused as the he counted the last item. "That's it? Where's the explosive batarangs?"

Roy laughed. "If you were really ten, would Batman trust you with explosives?"

"No," Dick said, "He probably wouldn't even let me out in the field. I didn't start crime fighting until I was twelve. But that's not the point."

"Just where are we?" Wally asked sitting on the floor. "And what happened to my leg? Why can't I see? Whywouldn'tmyleftlegholdmyweight?What'sgoingon?What'shappening?Wherearewe?" Wally's face and voice became increasingly alarmed. His mouth was moving so fast it became impossible to understand what he was saying. It was just meaningless sounds.

Roy shook his head. "Only a speedster could panic at super speed!" Roy slapped Wally's face. "I hate doing this." Wally was still speed babbling. Roy slapped him again. Wally finally went quiet.

"Your leg was broken, KF," Dick said, "It's crooked. As for how we got here, none of us know. The last thing Arsenal or I remember was going to sleep in our respective homes." Dick crawled the short distance across the floor to sit beside Wally. He touched Wally's head rubbing a hand through the red hair.

Wally tried weakly to push Dick's hand away. "What are you doing?"

"You have a bump on the back of your head," Dick said calmly, "It's possible you have a concussion."

"Geez," Roy said, "You really are acting like Bats! So cold! So heartless!"

"Well, somebody has to be acting rational!" Dick yelled, "Somebody has to behave responsibly! It not like I wanted this! I'm not ten years old! I'm not!" Dick silently cursed himself for the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He berated himself for loosing control even as the tears slipped past the mask. The tears rolled down his cheeks. Sobs escaped his throat.

"Are you crying?" Roy asked.

"I can't even see," Wally said, "But even I think that's obvious!" Wally reached out. He grabbed a hold of Dick pulling him closer. Dick let him. Dick buried his head against Wally's shoulder. The tears just poured out. Dick wasn't certain how it lasted. He could hear the sound of Roy shuffling something around but he didn't care. All rationality and logic was out the figurative window. When at last Dick lifted his head and pulled away from Wally, he discovered that the archer was rummaging through the quiver of arrows.

Roy was grinning like a cat who ate a canary. "I never I thought I'd this thankful for trick arrows!"

Dick sniffled. He wiped at his cheeks. He could not rub his eyes because of the mask. There was no spirit gum to reattach the mask should he remove it. Crying was childish and unmanly but it wasn't entirely a bad thing. He had forgotten that tears were a natural stress reliever. There was a calmness now. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted, one he had not known he was carrying. To have lost control that easily though…he was not himself. Was it because he had been deaged or was it something else? He couldn't afford to think to deeply about this. It would only worry him further.

"Ah hah!" Roy held up an arrow. "This is what I was hoping for! An explosive arrow!"

Dick felt his brows raise. "Your point?"

Roy swung the quiver onto his back. He stood up fast with the bow and arrow in hand. The catlike grin spread widely across his face. "Isn't it obvious Robbie? I'm going to blow up that door!"

Dick shook his head. "The room is too small. Debris from the door would hit us. The door is metal. Not to mention the explosive device itself…I don't know about you but I don't want to get hit by metal shrapnel!"

"We got to do something!" Roy yelled.

Dick titled his head up. He looked up at the lights. "There seems to something up there."

"Support beams," Roy said, "Some kind of narrow platform. Now that's a great idea!"

"Oh no!" Dick shook his head realizing where this was probably going.

"What?" Wally asked. "What's going on?"

"This idiot," Dick said, "is planning on getting up on a platform high above our heads. Where he will no doubt, fire that explosive arrow."

"More that," Roy said, "All three us of us up there."

Dick glared at Roy. "Sure, Bowhead. Just one problem. How are you planning on getting us up there?"

"You've got a grabbling gun, don't you?" Roy asked.

Dick sighed and pulled out the gun from the utility belt. "Fine," he said, "but I'm firing it. I don't trust you with my gear."

"Your gear?" Roy said in disbelief, "That's not yours anymore than these arrows are mine! I've never seen this bow before in my life! We don't even where this stuff came from! And what do you mean you don't trust me? Why should I trust you? How do I know that you're really Dick!"

"Guys!" Wally shouted, "Why are you acting this way? You're like spoiled-"

"Brats?" Dick suggested, "Or maybe the word you're looking for is kids. Physically we are kids." Dick stared at his hands. He looked at the grappling gun he was holding. Then he looked up at platform above the lights. "This really isn't a good idea." Dick gestured at the room around him. "This place has got to be some kind of temporary holding cell. There's no plumbing in here. There's no bedding. Whoever put us here isn't planning on keeping us here for long."

"Any length of time is too long!" Roy shouted, "Give me that!" Roy snatched the grappling gun out of Dick's hand. The archer pulled the trigger. The hook shot out catching a hold of the beam. Roy climbed up. He was soon up the beam on his knees looking down.

It was hard for Dick to see Roy because of the bright lights. "I still say this isn't a good idea," Dick said.

"You got any better ideas?" Roy yelled down.

"No," Dick muttered to himself.

A few minutes later all three boys were crowded together up on the beam. Roy had the bow and the explosive arrow in his hands. He shot the arrow at the door. The door exploded. The entire room shook. Smoke filled the room. The boys coughed. When the smoke cleared there was an empty door where the door had been. There was nothing but blackness past the doorway.

"Okay," Roy said, "Who wants to go through the creepy dark doorway first."

Dick smirked at Roy. "This was your idea. You go first!"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: There are some drug references in this story starting with this chapter. The information on drugs and withdrawal may not be fully accurate. I know a lot about pain and sickness as I deal with my own chronic health problems quite regularly. I thank God that I have never been addicted to drugs or been in a situation that could have led me to that as an outlet for my problems. I have almost never even been around anyone who has. Because of this I know very little about substance abuse, only the information I find from casual reading on the internet. I'm not writing this story for accuracy. I'm not trying to make a grand statement. This story is written solely for my own amusement and hopefully the entertainment of anyone who happens to read it.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC Comics owns them. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

Chapter Two

Roy Harper jumped down from the beam. He could feel the familiar weight of a bow and quiver on his back, though the bow and quiver in question were completely unfamiliar to him. He hated the fact he was in a Speedy costume again. It made him feel like a kid. When he really was this age he'd been extremely stupid. He had actually thought that being called Speedy was cool.

Roy's legs ached slightly. The cause of the aches was something he didn't want to think about. He landed on the floor with a thud. He moved cautiously toward the door. The darkness beyond the now blown open door was more a than a little spooky. It was pitch black. Roy stared down at his arms. For what seemed like the thirtieth time, he found himself thinking that he was too skinny. There was none of the muscle mass he had built up from years of working out. He really was about fifteen or sixteen. Roy smiled widely. At least he wasn't a ten year old.

The last thing Roy remembered before waking up here was his daughter Lian. She had woken up from some nightmare. He had been putting her back to bed. He had laid down beside her, stroking her hair. He had closed his eyes. Then he was here. He was worried about Lian but he couldn't afford to show it. He couldn't afford to face those fears right now. He told himself that Lian would be okay.

Lian was a bright girl. He didn't just think because he was her father. At four years old she was already reading basics books. She knew her numbers. If Lian woke up at home and found him missing she knew to call her Grandpa Ollie. Roy smiled. He remembered the look on Ollie's face, the first time he was called Grandpa. Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow, hated to be thought of as old.

His mind snapped back to Lian. What if she wasn't home? What if… No. He really couldn't afford to think this way.

Roy shook his head. "Focus Harper," he muttered to himself, "You need to focus." His thoughts were scattered, trying to go in every direction. He needed to concentrate on getting out of here. Everything else would have to wait.

"What's wrong?" a boy's voice asked. It was Dick Grayson. Roy still had trouble believing it. The real problem was treating him seriously. Dick looked so…young! Roy scratched at his neck then gazed at his arms. Okay, he thought, that might be a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

Roy turned around and looked up just in time to see Dick swing down on the grappling hook line. Dick landed beside Roy. Roy stared at the Robin costume Dick was wearing, a more practical outfit than any of the other Robin costumes Roy had seen. That wasn't saying much but the colors were a little bit better for stealth.

Roy looked at the classic domino mask that Dick was wearing. He rubbed at the edges of a mask he just knew was similar. Roy hadn't worn a mask much in a long time. He preferred shades. The reason why was simple. The stupid thing itched especially when one started to sweat. "Robin and Speedy again," Roy muttered, "Oh great." He glanced at his left arm, at the needle marks there.

"Is that what I think it is?" Dick asked noticing Roy's arm.

"Yeah," Roy said bitterly, "I'm pretty sure it is."

Neither said much for a minute after that. When Roy was in his teens he had done drugs, bad ones, heroin. The sweating and aches were all too familiar signs of withdrawal. It wasn't bad yet but it was headed that way. He wouldn't surprised at all if he had been runing a fever a few minutes ago.

Dick seemed to looking at Roy accusingly. Roy couldn't stand it. He broke the silence first. "I didn't do anything!" Roy shouted, "I've been clean for years! Do you think I'd be that stupid? I've got a little girl to look after! This isn't my fault!"

"I know," Dick said, "Do you think I chose to break down in tears? We're not ourselves."

Roy had the strangest feeling that that was the literal truth. Even for them that was weird. His mind searched for something else to think of, something else to say. He looked upwards. "Is it just me, or is Wally being too quiet?" Roy asked.

Dick titled his head. "That sound, it's faint. It's soft but…I think he's-"

"Snoring!" Roy finished.

"He can't afford to sleep. He's got a bump on his head," Dick said, "He's probably got a concussion. We've got to get him to wake up. With that crooked leg he's not going to be able move well on his own. We're going to have to get him down from there."

Roy sighed. "Alright, I'll do it."

Dick shook his head then looked rather pointedly at Roy's left arm.

"Hey!" Roy shouted defensively. "I'm still functioning okay! I'm not dealing with bad withdrawal symptoms yet!"

Dick crossed his arms. "It's that word, 'Yet' that I'm worried about."

Roy glared at Dick. "I'm fine!"

"Are you?" Dick asked, "Just try to relax. I'm not blaming you."

"Yeah right," Roy muttered.

Dick pulled the trigger on his grabbling gun and shot back up to the beam. Roy moved leaned to lean against the open doorway. He gazed at his right hand covered by a yellow glove. His eyes stared at the fresh needle marks on his arm. He clenched his hand up into a fist. He had been clean for almost seven years. A mixture of badly suppressed fear and worry combined with the withdrawal was turning him into an angry over emotional wreck. Roy wanted to hit something.

What Roy really wanted was to be back home with his daughter, preferably at his rightful age. Somehow he didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. He closed his eyes hoping this was just a dream. That he would wake up in his apartment in Star City and this would all be just a incredibly vivid nightmare. He opened his eyes. He sighed. He knew he wasn't that lucky

The sound of feet hitting the floor caused Roy to turn his head. Dick was standing there, struggling with the unconscious form of their friend Wally West. Wally was now nearly a foot taller than Dick. Wally was in a Kid Flash costume and looked to be in his early teens. This was so wrong on so many levels. Wally was supposed to be the Flash. He was supposed to be twenty-four years old. All three of them should have been the same age.

Dick was suddenly off balance. He crashed to the floor taking Wally down with him. Wally began to groan. Dick got on his knees scowling. "Now he wakes up!"

"Huh? What?" Wally's voice was confused. "Linda?" It was his wife's name.

Roy stepped over towards Wally and bent down close to his face smirking. "I'm not Linda, sweetheart!"

"Gah!" Wally yelled, "Roy?" Wally put his hands up trying to push Roy away. "What are you doing, Roy? Too close!"

"You see him?" Dick asked.

"Yes?" Wally said, "Yes! I can see! Everything's kind of blurry though."

"Head injury," Roy said. Almost simultaneously Dick said, "Concussion." Both Roy and Dick knew from personal experience that head injuries could do a wide variety of strange things to a person.

"The League's going to find us, aren't they?" Wally asked. He sounded as dazed and confused as he looked.

"Which League?" Roy asked only half teasing. Wally was a member of the Justice League. For a while he had tried juggling time with between Keystone City, the Titans and the League but that just didn't work, not and have time for a personal life. Even speedsters had limits. Roy had no idea why Wally ever thought he could do all three. Roy found it hard enough managing time between Checkmate and the Titans then later Checkmate and the Outsiders. What made this situation funny was that Wally didn't learn his lesson. He was once again actively involved with two different teams as well as protecting his city. Even workaholics like Batman weren't that ambitious. This time it was two different Leagues, the world famous Justice League of America and the more secretive Justice League Elite. Sooner or later that had to come crashing down.

Wally stared up at Roy. "What do you mean which League?"

"It's not that big a secret," Roy said grinning, "Ollie's on the team too. He never can keep his mouth shut around people he trusts. Nor around people he doesn't, come to think of it. He's always been a loudmouth. So yeah, I know all about the Justice League Elite."

Wally's eyes went comically wide. Roy laughed a little then suddenly gasped. His back was beginning to ache. The pain in his legs was increasing. Roy sat on the floor beside Wally.

"It's getting worse," Dick said. "Isn't it?" Roy could only nod.

"What's worse? What'sgettingworse?" Wally asked alarmed. He sat up.

"Heroin withdrawal." Dick's tone was emotionless. His face was grim.

"But Roy kicked the habit years ago!" Wally shouted.

"I did," Roy said, "This body didn't." Roy winced. "It feels like the habit's kicking me." Roy tried to smile and failed. "It's funny. All trouble that comes with withdrawal and none of the benefits of getting high in the first place."

"That's not funny," Wally said.

Dick stood up. He walked to the darkened doorway. He turned around to look down at Roy. "You've been feeling the symptoms since you woke up, haven't you?"

"Yes," Roy said, "But I didn't recognize it as first." How could he have recognized it? It was the last thing he was expecting. He had been clean for so many years, It wasn't until he saw the marks on his arm that he knew. Even then he didn't believe it. He didn't want to. The only thing he couldn't figure out was the lack of strong cravings. Maybe it was because he couldn't remember the high. The last memory he had of that sensation was from almost seven years ago.

Roy had been seventeen when he became addicted. He was only on the stuff for a month. If not for Dinah Lance, he doubted he would stopped. He had wanted to, but without support he knew he couldn't have. The horror on Oliver Queen's face when he found Roy was a junkie was something he could never forget. It haunted him. It used to infuriate him. The fact was though that Oliver had all but abandoned him sometime before that. Green Arrow had left Speedy as the sole hero in Star City for over two months while he traveled through out the countryside.

Dick was standing in front of the doorway. He turned to face the darkness beyond. "There should have been guards here by now," he said.

"Well there isn't" Wally said.

Roy stood up somewhat shakily. "We should be getting out of here."

Wally pointed at his left leg. "Idon'tthinki'mgoinganywhere!"

Dick groaned. "Slow down, KF!"

Roy swiftly pulled an arrow at out from his quiver. It was totally at random because he was not familiar with the arrows. It was only the weight that told him what it was: an boxing gloving arrow. He twirled the arrow around awkwardly with his fingers. "Really kid, no one likes speed talk. Now what was you were saying?"

Wally's voice slowed. "I said, I'm not going anywhere with this leg! I can't run!"

"Then you'll have to lean on one of us," Roy said. He placed the arrow back in the quiver. "It had better be me. I don't think our boy wonder is tall enough or strong enough at the moment." Roy reached his arm out to Wally to help him up.

"Are sure?" Wally asked, "What about the withdrawal? You're sick!"

"Yeah," Roy said, "But not any worse than a bad case of the flu." For all he knew, he might be lying. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure it was heroin that had been in his veins. And a few of the withdrawal symptoms he remembered experiencing were a bit different from the flu. Roy didn't want to worry Wally. He didn't feel that concerned about worrying Dick. He assumed Dick already knew certain things. When it came to crime and criminal activities, it always seemed there wasn't much that Batman's former protégé didn't know.

Dick didn't say anything to contradict Roy, a fact that Roy was grateful for. Wally reached up and accepted Roy's help. In under a minute Wally was leaning on Roy's right side for support. Roy gave Wally a strong look. "Whatever you do, don't try to do anything speed related while touching me. I don't want to be vibrated to the point of exploding!"

"I would never!" Wally sounded shocked. "I have much better control than that! You know I do!"

"Uh huh," Roy said unconvinced, "That's why you've been speed talking."

Dick was fingering his gloves pulling at them in a nervous manner. He let out a short startled yell as a light dislay appeared above one of his gloves. The lights were bluish white. The lights stabilized into a digital image.

Wally whistled. "Wow, that's something you don't see everyday. Unless you're going to the future. That's a holographic computer. Neat!"

The movement of the skin on the forehead above Dick's mask showed that he was raising his hidden brows. "This…No way!"

"What Robbie? Tell!" Roy demanded.

"It says here that the year is 2010," Dick said.

"That's not right!" Wally shouted, "It's 2004!"

Roy smiled weakly. Gazing at the computer he said, "At the very least we've got a flash light now."

Dick smiled back, a smile that was not much better than Roy's. "A flash light," Dick said, "Or something like it. The rest we'll figure out later. " Dick walked out into the dark hall. Roy and Wally followed.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC Comics does. This is just a fun writing exercise

* * *

Chapter Three

Wally West was moving slowly. It was an uncommon experience for him. Wally was normally the fastest man alive. Right now that it was more like the fastest kid alive. His body was awash with the unstable hormones of a teenager. It slowed him down. It had before. But that wasn't what was really causing his slowness. What was truly slowing him down was his left leg. It was crooked from a bad break. If he moved wrong it hurt. He couldn't stand on it. Sometimes being able to move at super speed was as much a curse as a blessing. It meant that it his body healed at super speed too. It didn't mean it healed right. Broken bones still had to be set to heal straight.

Wally couldn't even remember breaking his leg. His last memory was being in bed with his wife Linda. He'd had an arm around her as he drifted off to sleep. Then he woke up here, blind. While his vision was clearing he couldn't see well. Everything was blurry.

Wally leaned on his friend, Roy Harper. They walked down a dark area that seemed like a tunnel. "What is this? A cave?" Wally asked.

"No," Dick said. His voice was now a child's. The pitch was higher. It should have sounded strange to Wally but it didn't. He had known from the moment he woke that it was Dick's voice. He also knew that he shouldn't have known that. Wally hadn't been around Dick that much before they were thirteen; that was the year they founded the Teen Titans.

"It's a hallway," Roy said interrupting Wally's thoughts, "Trust me you're not missing much."

"Grey walls," Dick said, "Solid concrete. It's an easy mistake."

"Yeah, if you're blind," Roy muttered.

"Hey!" Wally yelled, "My vision still isn't what it should be! Don't go making jabs at the blind!"

"Sorry," Roy said. His voice was unsteady. Wally was still leaning against Roy and could feel that his friend was sweating. His clothes were ringing wet. Wally didn't say anything because he knew what was causing the sweats. It was the heroin withdrawal Roy was going through. Wally wasn't stupid. He knew something about heroin addiction. Maybe he didn't know a lot but he did know something. Also, he knew Roy well enough to know that Roy thought he was being protective by not talking about his problems. It really wasn't working. Wally was still worried about Roy.

Wally was worried about a lot of things. There was his broken badly healed leg. There was Roy's heroin withdrawal. And there was the fact that all three of them had been deaged.

Wally's eyes really weren't working at their best. He suddenly saw light up ahead. "Green light? Are you two seeing this?"

"It's not a light," Dick said, "It's the emerald glow of a Green Lantern."

The light came closer. "That's not just any Green Lantern," Roy said, "It's…Hal! Hal Jordan! But he's d-"

Somehow Wally didn't think that last word should be spoken. Wally slapped a hand over Roy's mouth. Hal Jordan was, as Roy had been about to say, supposed to be dead. Hal had been one of the greatest heroes on the planet. He had been one of Green Arrow's best friends. Hal was one of the good guys, right up until the day that his home city was destroyed. After that he went nuts. He stopped calling himself Green Lantern. He had started calling himself Parallax. As Parallax, he had tried to rewrite time. He had almost destroyed the universe. He ultimately died saving the Earth by restarting the Sun. Hal Jordan was definitely supposed to be dead. Only he hadn't actually stayed in the great beyond. Hal had somehow bonded with the spirit of vencance and become the new Spectre. The Spectre was an extremely powerful ghostly being who one did not want to cross. And still this meant that Hal Jordan was dead.

"They're over here!" the familiar voice of Hal Jordan shouted. As Hal came closer Wally could tell that it was him. It was Hal as he been in his early years. There was no gray in his hair. He was a Green Lantern.

A red blur moving at super speed came down the tunnel. The blur stopped in front of Wally. It was a man in a very familiar red costume with yellow lightning shaped trim. It was the same as the costume that Wally usually wore. The one he wore in honor of his uncle, Barry Allen. "Are you okay kid?" the man asked.

The voice was so familiar, it made Wally gasp. He gazed up in shock. It couldn't be. The man sounded exactly like Uncle Barry. There was just one problem with this: Barry Allen was dead.

The man who looked like Barry pulled Wally away from Roy. The man wrapped his arms around Wally. It felt like Barry was hugging him. It couldn't be! Blood rushed to Wally's head. He began to hyperventilate. Wally felt the darkness surround him. The last thing he heard was Roy saying, "I think he fainted!"

Wally woke on something sort of soft. He opened his eyes. His vision had completey cleared. He could see everything fine. He was wearing a hospital gown. He was in a hospital bed. The room was small and windowless but otherwise very hospital like. He stared at his arms. He was hooked to some sort of machines. There was an iv in his right arm. His body was still that of a thirteen or fourteen year old. He looked at the foot of the bed. His left leg was in a cast.

In a corner of the room not far from the foot of the bed was a chair with a too familiar man sitting in it. He was wearing the Flash uniform with cowl pulled down. He was slump down in the chair with his head tilted back, very much asleep. The blond hair and face meant he was either Barry Allen or his identical twin. Somehow Wally didn't think this was Malcolm Thawne. Malcolm Thawne, Barry's twin who had called himself Cobalt Blue and tried to wipe out all of Barry's family. No, Wally didn't think this was Malcolm Thawne. He had been tricked before but he wanted still to believe that this Barry.

"Uncle Barry?" Wally asked nervously.

"Huh? W-what?" The Barry double came awake startled. He sat up straight in the chair. His eyes widened. "Wally! You're awake!"

Wally glanced around the little room. "Where are we?"

"The Justice League's real headquarters," the Barry look-alike said. He moved to stand beside the bed. "You know the Hall of Justice in D.C.?"

Wally looked him blankly. He didn't know what he was talking about.

The Barry double went on speaking. "It's not the real headquarters. After the Injustice Gang attacked Mount Justice we decided that we needed to be more clever about hiding the headquarters." The Barry look-alike scratched at the back of his head. "I really shouldn't be telling you this but Robin and Speedy are up here too. They're bound to have figured it out."

"Dick-Roy-" Wally interrupted, "They're alright?"

The man who looked like Barry raised a brow. "Who?"

"Nightwing and Arsenal!" Wally said.

The Barry double looked confused. "Again, who?"

"Robin and Speedy," Wally yelled impatiently, " Dick Grayson and Roy Harper! Are they okay?"

"What? You know their real names?" The Barry double looked surprised. He smiled. "Batman is not going to like that. I'm pretty sure he gave Robin direct orders not to reveal his secret identity. If you know his real name then you know who Batman is."

Okay, Wally thought, this really wasn't Barry Allen. At least it wasn't his Barry Allen. What was this? What was Wally dealing with? Virtual Reality? Maybe. Time travel? No. This Barry had mentioned a few things that never happened. So what was going on? Wally needed to talk someone else, someone who wasn't part of this, whatever this was.

"Dick," Wally said, "I mean Robin, where is he? "

A few minutes later Dick came into the room still looking like a ten year old and still wearing that Robin costume. Barry left the room. Dick walked up to the bed.

"What's going on?" Wally asked, "Where are we?" Dick shrugged. "I don't know, yet. You've been unconscious for the past two hours. During that time I've thinking. There's a few odd things I've remembered. Things I can't believe I forgot."

Wally raised his brows. "Like what?"

"Think about your uncle, Barry," Dick said, "What happened to him?"

Wally glared. "You know what happened. He died saving the planet!"

Dick put a hand to his forehead. "Okay, I walked right into that one. Think about something else. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl. Who is she? Where she is from? How did she get her powers?"

Wally continued glaring. "What's the point in this?"

"Just answer the questions," Dick said, "Don't think about how stupid they are or the fact that you already know the answers."

"Alright," Wally said still glaring. "Donna is a reflection of Diana made into a real person. Donna is a New Titan raised by the Titans of Myth and given powers by them. No, Donna is Wonder Woman's adopted sister saved by Wonder Woman from a fire when she was just a baby and later given powers by the Amazons' mysterious Purple Ray. No…That can't be right." Wally felt his head starting to hurt as he remembered three different versions of the story of Donna's past.

Wally remembered what really happened to Uncle Barry. He saw in his mind, men and women, all superheroes from different Earths. Memories, dozens upon dozens of memories began pouring into his mind like a faucet that had suddenly been turned on. "The Multiverse," Wally whispered, "The Crisis."

Dick nodded. "Yes. Multiple Earths died. The surviving Earths were blended into one but not seamlessly. We all forgot but there were flaws, things that only made sense if you knew there used to be other Earths. Things kept changing even after the worlds merged, like the universe was trying to rid itself of those flaws. But it never fully succeeded."

"We were from Earth One," Wally said, "But Jay Garrick, the original Flash…He was from Earth Two. The entire Justice Society was! There used to be another Robin, an old Robin! There used to be an Earth Three that's almost exactly like the Earth Two that the Justice League visited a while back. There- Argh!" Wally clutched at his aching head. "This is so weird!" He put his hands over his eyes.

"There shouldn't be other Earths," Dick said, "I think somehow the Multiverse was restored. That or it was never destroyed in the first place. I don't see how energy can be destroyed. And ultimately everything is made of energy. I think somehow that we're on a different Earth or rather hovering in space above it. We're on a Watchtower."

Wally peeled his hands away from his eyes. "We're on the moon?"

Dick shook his head. "No. This Watchtower is different. We're on a satellite in space."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. DC Comics does. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

Chapter Four

Dick Grayson stood beside the hospital bed. The bed's occupant, Wally West was sitting up, clutching his head. Dick didn't blame him. The whole concept of the Multiverse was nothing short of astounding. To suddenly remember it, to know that were countless other realities out there, was enough to give anyone a headache. The full truth of the Crisis had hit him like a ton of bricks just hours ago. From Dick's perspective the crisis had happened about four or five years ago, yet it was as new and as fresh in his mind as if it happened a day ago. An infinite number of worlds had died. The universe had been reborn. Just the thought of that sent Dick reeling. He was trying not to think of it. Some concepts were just too great for the human brain to grasp.

"How did this happen?" Wally asked, "Why? How can I remember two different versions of the past? There was Earth One. We were there. Then there's just the Earth."

"Don't think of Earth One too much," Dick said, "Its not our Earth. Ours is the blended one, the reborn Earth. For lack of a better term, the New Earth. For me at least, the Earth One memories are fragmented at best. It's as if they happened to someone else. It's like I'm watching video recordings of something."

"How are you staying so calm!" Wally yelled.

"Someone has to," Dick said.

"Bull!" Wally shouted, "Worlds died! People died!"

"A long time ago and never," Dick said, "It's tragic. It's statistics." The truth was if he didn't keep thinking of it that way, he thought was going to go crazy.

Wally gave a very fierce glare. "Roy was right! You are acting Bat-like! Too much so!"

"It's not like I want to!" Dick paced back and forth in the small space that the room allowed. "Someone has to be responsible."

"You're what? Ten?" Wally asked.

"Eleven," Dick said, "but only in body."

Wally's brows went up. "How do you know that?"

Dick stopped pacing. He sat on the bed beside Wally. He pressed a button on his left glove. "It's a computer with a holographic interface and wi fi access." The screen appeared floating above his glove. He typed one handed, the hunt and peck technique. Google appeared on the screen. He typed in 'Richard John Grayson.' In under a minute he had a old newspaper article on the screen.

"You googled yourself!" Wally said. He smirked.

Dick shook his head. "Not the point!" He pointed at the screen. "See this? The date on this article is 2007."

Wally read the writing on the screen. He looked surprised and upset. "Dick," he whispered, "This is about the night your parents died."

Once again Dick shook his head. "No, not me. The Dick Grayson of this Earth. He was eight years old when his parents died. That was 2007. This is 2010. Basic math revealed this body's age."

"This body?" Wally asked, "What do you mean this body!"

"I don't think it was simple deaging," Dick said, "This is a whole other Earth. If it's real then I think our minds took over the bodies of our counterparts here."

Wally looked at Dick as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. "That's crazy!"

With the press of a button Dick turned off the computer. He tucked his fingers and thumb into a first. He held the pointing finger. "Alien invasion." He held up another finger. "Time travel." Another finger rose. "Clones." He held up another finger. "Magic." He stretched out his thumb. "And last but not least, psychic powers, including telepathy. Since when have our lives ever not been crazy?" Dick put his fingers on his forehead massaging his temples. "The life of a superhero is never normal."

"How do you know what's going on?" Wally asked.

"I don't," Dick said as, "It's all wild mass guessing. I've taken all the facts I've got and tried to make sense of them but I could be wrong. I could be very wrong."

"It's insane," Wally said as the door began to open, "The whole idea of the Multi-" He suddenly stopped speaking. Dick stared at Wally. The speedster looked upset. "I can't say it," Wally whispered, "Why can't I say it?"

That was interesting, Dick thought. He wondered if Roy was the same. It wouldn't surprise him at all. He turned his head back toward the door. Doctor Midnight walked into the room. He was wearing the costume of the second Doctor Mid-Nite. Dick was pretty certain this was the second Doctor Mid-Nite, or rather the version of him from this Earth. Dick hadn't met the one from the New Earth but maybe once or twice. Dick had never really spoken to him, not the point of actually carrying on a conversation.

"Are you a member of the Justice League?" Wally asked, acting all innocent. Dick wanted to hit him. There were exactly nine active member of this world's League. It was public knowledge that was all over the internet.

Doctor Mid-Nite just smiled. "Reserve member," he said, "I'm only called during emergency situations. More than not it's medical situations." Doctor Mid-Nate began checking Wally's vitals.

Barry Allen came into the room. His red cowl was back in place. He looked at Dick then gestured at the door. "If this were a hospital the visiting hours would be way past over, Robin. I think it's time you left the room and let the good doctor do his job." Dick didn't move from the bed. He wanted to protest that he wasn't Robin anymore, that he hadn't been for years, but he couldn't. The moment he tried to say that, he found couldn't speak. He couldn't move his lips to speak the words. He couldn't deliberately, knowingly speak of any related to his own Earth.

Barry walked over to Dick and grabbed him by the arm. He gently pulled Dick out of the bed. It was as if Dick weighed nothing. It wasn't that Dick weighed nothing. It was that he was somewhere under a hundred pounds. Somewhere under slightly seventy pounds if he was guessing right. Dick hated being physically eleven. He didn't remember being quite this small when he was really was this age.

Dick found himself being guided out of the room. The door was closed behind him and Dick was soon standing alone in a hallway in the infirmary of the Watchtower. Dick randomly walked the halls of the Watchtower. It was a good way to get lost but he didn't really care. He always seemed to think best when moving. He wished he knew where this Watchtower's gym was.

The fact that he couldn't willingly say anything about his world to anyone but Wally and maybe Roy implied something. He couldn't even talk to Wally about Earth One until Wally remembered it. Something had been done to them. Something more than the apparent mind transfer. Was it magic? Was it telepathy? Or was it something else?

Dick moved on down through the hallways until he found himself in an large open area. In front of him and to his right were large floor length windows looking out into space. To his left were the large cicrclur teleportation devices, Zeta Beam tech. Zeta Beams here did not seem to work the same as they did in the universe of the New Earth.

Dick stopped in front of one of the windows. He stared out into space. The Earth of this reality was down below. From space it didn't look any different from the one in his home reality. Back home he had seen the view from space before. He had seen it many times. He had stood on a Tamaranean starship when he was nineteen. When he was twenty he had been aboard a very odd orb-like ship created by the Titans of Myth. Just last year when his world's Justice League went missing, he had led a new temporary Justice League until the old one was found. He had stood on a Watchtower on the moon staring out into space, just as he stood here. No matter how many times he saw it, the sight of the Earth from space was still breathtaking. Even if this wasn't his Earth, the effect was the same.

Dick punched the button on his glove. The holographic screen appeared. He searched through current news stories. He checked for the kind activities only the superheroes could deal. The first cities he looked up were this Earth's versions of his home cities, Gotham and Bludhaven. Nothing was happing in Bludhaven. Gotham City was a different matter. The Arkham Asylum's worst had broken out about four hours ago. The Joker, Two Face, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler and Poison Ivy were all loose.

The next city Dick checked on was New York. It was a city that was almost much a home to him in its way as Gotham or Bludhaven. For the longest time it was New York where the Titans had their headquarters. Vandal Savage, Icicle, Geomancer, Sportsmaster, Solomon Grundy, and others Dick was unfamiliar with, were on the attack somewhere in Manhattan. It sounded an awful lot like a version of the Injustice Society. According to eyewitness accounts and pictures, it was not the Justice Society who were fighting back. Dick had already read up on this Earth's JSA. The JSA here was currently retired. Instead the team defending New York City was Infinity Incorporated. Dick looked up the team. The lineup surprised him. It was a team with costumes and appearances very close to their recent counterparts who were mostly members or foes of the Justice Society on the New Earth. They were not the decade or so younger that Dick had been expecting. This didn't seem all that relevant so Dick barely glanced at the images of Infinity Incorporated before going back to the news.

In Superman's city, Metropolis, several unknown nut jobs were running around with Kryptonite powered battle suits stolen from Lexcorp. Over in California in Star City home of Green Arrow, a mysterious black dome had appeared over the city trapping everyone who was there. In Middleton, Colorado, a city that Martian Manhunter sometimes called home, a super-powered pyromaniac was attacking the downtown area. In Boston, Wonder Woman was fighting the Silver Swan.

All those different attacks going on explained why most of the league's big guns had not been involved in finding Dick, Wally, and Roy. All those attacks were too much of a coincidence. There was something here but Dick didn't know what.

He wasn't even sure if his Multiverse theories were correct. The only reason he seemed to know about the Multiverse was because of idle thoughts. He had been thinking about the original Teen Titans who weren't present. When he thought of Donna, he remembered helping her find out about her real parents, only the details of what was said and done back then weren't right. There were contradictions. These troubling thoughts quickly led to other wrong or doubled memories. In very short order that had led to remembering the Crisis in vivid detail. Memories of Earth One was still cloudy and murky, mostly dreamlike. The older the Earth One memories it seemed, the more vague they were.

Dick pressed the button on the glove turning the computer off. He stood there staring out into space for a few more minutes. He paced back and forth a little. Then from somewhere behind him the Watchtower's computer announced, "Recognized 02 Batman," Dick froze. He went utterly still. Here was a moment he had not been looking forward to. In less than a minute a hand in a black glove rested on his shoulder.

"Robin," a familiar voice said behind him. Dick turned around to face Batman, or rather to look up at his face. Batman was six feet two. Dick was currently somewhere under five feet. Dick swallowed nervously. He smiled feeling incredibly awkward. The Batman in front of him was younger than the one he knew. Dick had looked up Bruce Wayne on the computer. He was fairly sure that this Batman was twenty seven years old. That was only three years older than Dick was supposed to be. His Bruce, his Batman was almost forty. Unless one was very experienced in dealing with him, it was hard to read Batman. The cowl was not the only reason. Batman was not an extremely expressive person. This Batman, Dick found almost suspiciously easy to read. There was relief, exhaustion and something else…

This Batman did something unexpected. He dropped down to one knee and hugged Dick. "I've been so worried about you, chum," he whispered.

Chum? Dick hadn't heard his Batman call him that in years. He wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't tell this Batman that he wasn't his Robin. It wasn't that he didn't want to. He literally couldn't. "I'm okay!" Dick said speaking the first words to appear in his mind, "Really! All this hugging is overwhelming, not whelming, definitely overwhelming! Heavily so!" A second after the words came out of his mouth, Dick found himself thinking what the heck? Those words…That word play…He never spoke like that!

Batman pulled away and stood up. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face. His face turned more serious. "I'd have gotten here sooner," Batman said, "I wanted to be there when they found you but-"

"I know," Dick said, "A major Arkham breakout. I read about it on the web."

"Have you been checked out?" Batman asked.

"Paranoid much?" Dick found himself saying, "Doctor Mid-Nite already looked me over. A clean bill of health."

"What about a mind scan?" Batman

"No way!" Dick shouted, "That's not going to happen. If it was, it couldn't right now. I'm somewhat happy to say that Martian Manhunter is busy. All the stuff going on. It like of America has been turned into a disaster zone, heavy on the dis." Once again the word play coming out of Dick's mouth startled him. He tried not to visibly react.

"What disasters?" Batman asked his voice so flat so void of emotion, that to anyone not Bat Family it probably would have been scary. Without thinking Dick answered the question as readily as he would have answered his Batman. But there was a difference. "The Kryptonite powered goons in Metropolis. The Injustice Society Revival in New York. The winged cyberkinetic lady in Boston," Dick rattled off a list, "Last but not least my personal favorite in all this, the Martian Manhunter is fighting someone with flame control powers in Middleton, Colorado." Dick was again surprised at himself. The words had come so naturally so easily but it wasn't his normal speech patterns.

Dick pressed the button on his glove. The screen appeared. He typed fast. An recording of the Martian Manhunter fighting the pryokinetic villain appeared.

This Batman didn't seem at all suspicious of Dick. He just sighed. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly as if he were extremely weary. The old expression about the weight of the world on one's shoulders seemed to Dick to be very apt.

Dick pressed the button on his glove. The screen appeared. He typed fast. A recording of the Martain Manhunter fighting the pryokinetic villain appeared. Dick typed again and a image appeared of Superman fighting five men who were wearing green and purple powered armor. "This footage is live or close to live," Dick said, "Though who'd be stupid enough to stand and watch I don't know. Now that I see both of them, I wonder why they don't just switch foes. After all, Superman isn't vulnerable to fire. And Kryptonite doesn't do a thing to the Manhunter."

"Out of the mouth of babes," Batman said.

"I'm not a baby!" Dick protested, "I'm not just some kid! I'm-" He broke off in mid-sentence. He'd been about to say that he was a man, that he was twenty four years old. He found he couldn't even form the words. His mouth clamped shut.

Batman didn't seem to notice anything odd. His only response was a shake of his head. He then pulled out a small electronic device from his utility belt. As soon as Dick saw the writing, 'JLA' on the device he knew what it was, a comlink, a communicator.

"Batman to Superman," Batman said into the device.

"I'm kind of busy right now," Superman responded back, his voice coming out loud and clear through the comlink.

"Fighting men armed with kryptonite?" Batman said.

"How did you know that?" Superman asked.

"The internet," Batman said dryly, "You'd be amazed how fast information fast information travels these days."

"Oh!" Superman sounded startled.

Under his breath Batman seemed to mutter the words, "Idiot farm boy. A trained reporter and he doesn't even think of the obvious."

Dick couldn't help the laughter that his escaped, a short burst of cackling. The very sound of that creepy laugh shut him up fast.

Batman gave Dick an irritated look then went back to speaking into the comlink. "Superman, you're not the only one fighting right now. Martian Manhunter is in Middleton Colorado fighting someone with flame manipulation abilities." "I know that!" Superman snapped. "Did it ever occur to you to trade places?" Batman asked.

"Um, no?" Superman said.

"As both you are capable of super speed and your enemies do not appear to be," Batman said, "I suggest that you do switch places. When you're finished with the fight I want to see both of you on the Watchtower. Batman out." Batman put away the communicator.

"So," Dick said, "What are we doing now?"

"Waiting, my young Robin," Batman said, "We're waiting."

For a moment Dick felt too comfortable with this unknown Batman. He gazed up at the Batman. He felt almost as if he was this Batman's Robin. This wasn't so. He knew it wasn't. He was supposed to be a grown man, not a kid in a Robin costume! His mind protested fiercely but he couldn't speak the thoughts aloud. Dick looked at his glove. He watched the computer footage of Superman suddenly fighting the pyromaniac. He switched it over, and in under a minute watched as the Manhunter was fighting the men in the Kryptonite powered armor. He kept switching back and forth between the two fights. Both superheroes made short work of their new foes. Both cameras stopped. Dick turned off the computer.

"Recognized 01. Superman," the computer announced.

A light flashed and Superman appeared in one the circular teleportation device. There was wear and tear from recent battle but he looked otherwise the same as his New Earth counterpart.

About four second later, the computer called out, "Recognized 07. Martian Manhunter." The Martian Manhunter appeared. His costume was different. The red harness over his chest was the same but everything else was not. There was no blue shorts. Instead there was black clothing covering him from his legs up to his chest, and his arms. There was a red belt around his waist. Even the blue cape was changed, a more practical, less flaring, design.

Both Superman and the Martian Manhunter walked forward toward Batman. Dick stood beside Batman, silently refusing to call himself Robin. He was not Robin! He was Nightwing! But he couldn't say it aloud, not with anyone around besides Wally and Roy.

Superman's costume was badly torn in places. Kryptonite always did a bad number on his invulnerability. Any wounds he had sustained were already beginning to heal. If it were daylight in the U.S. right now, Dick knew that Superman wouldn't have any wounds at all. Dick knew more than he wanted to about Superman's powers because his Batman was extremely paranoid. When you lived in a world where cyber kinetic, mystical, and telepathic mind control were all possibilities maybe it wasn't that paranoid. There was an old phrase that Dick had heard more than once that sort of applied, 'It wasn't paranoia if they were actually out to get you.'

Superman looked at Batman kind of sheepishly. Dick knew the Superman from his Earth and more vaguely the Superman of Earth One. While they in many ways the same man, there were some distinct differences. On New Earth the Clark Kent identify was closer to the truth of the man. On Earth One it had been the reverse. This Superman seemed to be like the one Dick knew best. It was subtle things, hard to be certain of, but this Superman seemed to be far more the farmer's son from Kansas than from than the alien from Krypton. There was the slightest hint of a Midwestern accent as he spoke. "I don't why I didn't think of it. Switching opponents was a bright idea." "Don't look at me," Batman said. He gestured at Dick. "It was his suggestion."

Superman grinned at Dick. Dick smiled back then looked the Martian Manhunter who was standing quietly next to Superman. Dick felt more nervous than ever. If anyone could figure the truth it was the Martian Manhunter.

"I see that the boy is safe and sound," the Manhunter said.

"Physically yes," Batman said, "I've keeping in contact with the Watchtower for the past few hours. According to Green Lantern all three boys were found in a tunnel somewhere under Coast City. The problem is that finding them was too easy. We were guided. And we still don't know who took them in the first place. We all know that mind control and implanted suggestions are a possibility. To be safe J'onn, I think you should scan Robin's mind."

"NO!" Dick shouted. He panicked. Even though he knew there was no place to go, he tried to back away. Batman grabbed him holding him firmly in place.

Dick felt the Martian Manhunter enter his mind. Images flashed through Dick's mind. They were memories but not Dick's memories. A couple that looked like his parents, wearing the wrong costumes, fell to their deaths. A Batcave that was just as wrong but an oath that seemed almost right. A Wayne Manor that was not the quite the one he knew. Training and school, only not the exact training he received and not the school he went to. The touch of the Martian Manhunter's mind left Dick and the wrong memories became a weak echo. An echo, a fading dream that was much more vague than the knowledge he had of Earth One.

"His mind appears to be that of a normal preteen boy," the Manhunter said, "I see nothing strange."

Batman seemed to relax. Dick however did not. What? What? What? His mind repeated the word like a badly skipping CD. Dick almost fell from shock. He couldn't explain why, not even to himself but he believed the Martian Manhunter. He believed that the Martian Manhunter hadn't more than traces of the mind that really belonged in this body. Somehow the Manhunter hadn't actually seen Dick's mind but something else instead.. Something really wasn't right here. Dick kept thinking that and the facts kept proving it. Was anything Dick saw here real? Dick knew if he pinched himself he would hurt but was anything here real?


End file.
